(Bloomberg) — The National Football League can use drones to shoot films, documentaries and television segments, becoming the first major sports league to receive such permission from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The exemption, which precludes filming games, comes three months after the FAA said it was probing NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, for their use of drones. It's illegal to fly unmanned aircraft for any commercial purpose without first receiving a federal green light.

In a Sept. 17 letter, the FAA granted the league's NFL Films permission to use drones but with several conditions and limitations. Among them: Drones must weigh less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) including payload, fly no more than 400 feet (122 meters) above the ground and travel no faster than 100 miles per hour (87 knots).

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